Club 4x4 Insurance - performance

[GHendo]

I think it pays to swap insurance companies now and again because they all tend to just stick your premiums up and up as each year comes around. Currently I’m with NRMA for everything (cars, house, farm etc) as they did a really good deal with me a couple of years ago however I notice the premiums never go down each renewal.

My son had a slight ding last Christmas that wasn’t his fault and the NRMA were phenomenal in processing his claim. The accident happened in Brisbane (where he lives) but the car was driveable – all we did was give some photos of the damage to the local smash repair shop I use down here and they didn’t even have to have a assessor look at the car – they ordered the parts needed from looking at the photos and booked the repair in for when my son came down to stay for a week. It involved most of the left side of the vehicle and the back door and rear left quarter panel both had to be replaced before all the side was painted. A week later you’d never know the accident happened.

The NRMA might be a bit more expensive at the moment but gee, I was most impressed with the processing of this claim.

Cheers

Geoff

[spot01]

Club 4X4 water crossing changes

New excess for water crossing claims:

https://www.club4x4.com.au/policy-changes-water-crossing-claims/?utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Unprepared+water+crossing%3F+From+today+it+will+come+at+a+cost&utm_campaign=Club+4x4+Send+073

I'm not surprised they are having issues with running a small niche specialist "book", although I would prefer them to have an optional extra to reduce the new excess on water crossing cliams - that way people have the choice to accept the excess risk or pay more to cover it (which is what insurance is really about).

[littleriver]

good read ... seems to make sense to me ...

from comment's section (by author)

The excess applies to claims where the driver was driving into water for the purposes of crossing. No other water claim will be an issue. If you’re performing a crossing and get stuck, hydrolocked or have water ingress then you will be exposed to this new excess.

We do not and never will avoid paying claims – let me make that very clear. This change is implemented to deter from irresponsible water crossing technique – there is ALWAYS a way around the crossing or a responsible way to approach it, if you choose to approach it at all. Having water lapping the bottom of your windscreen is not responsible for example. If the right precautions were taken then it would be clear that the water was too deep and it may be clear that there are holes in the bottom which may lead to your vehicle becoming an oversized floaty – leading to likely irreparable damage.

As you’ve noted – you’re unlikely to be in this situation, presumably because you value your vehicle and are more interested in the destination that testing your door seals.

For four wheel drivers like you, this change will not have any real affect. The difference is, rather than hurting everyone with a price increase, we are only penalising those who do the wrong thing.

Kalen

[sharkcaver]

as I posted on another forum:


Insurance history: since 1987, 1 claim and that was for a windscreen aprox 2013. Very low city Km's but lots of country/off road Km's. Almost a Sunday, church driving nana with zero demerit points, no convictions for traffic offences (or non traffic for that matter)

I bought new vehicle and set it up 2 years back. No one came close to club in regards to premium, so that, coupled with additional off road recovery insurance was a good deal to me. However, quoting clubs argument:

The premiums are only worth how much you value the extra cover. Best bet to give us a call and we can walk through the differences. Once you have your head around it you may find that your current insurer doesn't measure up.

So buying cheap with club, maybe they themselves don't measure up. At the moment, I disagree on that.

Only last month i had cause to ring club to grizzle about my premium increasing by 30% over 2 years. I mentioned my low risk, church driving nana risk assessment. I am fully aware premiums will increase and agreed value will lower over time, but 30% was a kick in the nurries. Days later, they came back and offered a small premium discount. So Kudo's to club. I appreciate that immensely. They were courteous and listened to my argument, reviewed my individual situation and acknowledged my low risk belief. I know from past ventures, most insurers aren't interested in bargaining for premiums even if they know it will cost them a sale/renewal.

I do have concerns about club. The fact they don't have an office over here and at times I could be looking at a 3hr time difference, means there is a very real risk I may just have to sort the shit out myself, keep the documentation and submit to club for reimbursment. With my low risk, I can live with that for now.

But I note things are a changing. Now they have got a leg up into the industry, their alogarithms are changing accordingly. Fair enough, they are a business after all and need to provide variances to keep themselves in business. No such thing as a free lunch - someone has to pay, somewhere down the line. That was reflected in my premium increase.

But apart optional from off road recovery insurance, clubs product doesn't really provide me anything in addition that my previous fourbie insurer offered. If I'm legal to be there, I am covered. The vehicles agreed cover takes into account fitted accessories. The personal items cover is similar. So I don't buy into we cover you more, for more, in more places.

I can sympathise and understand the conundrum re water ingress. And like all of us, I don't want to be paying a numpty tax on my premium. However, in my case, I will incur an additional 8.5% value of vehicle value excess should I screw up in a water crossing. Something another insurer, who incidentally offers almost the same cover, wont charge me additionally.

So I will be forced against my trusting nature to review things next time around. To not do so is not performing due diligence. Same as club not reviewing their claims history and adjusting accordingly. Its a conundrum and getting the balance right is they key. To me, an 8.5% water ingress excess is a kick in the nurries and the balance is leaning towards the numpties.

You see, that is the problem with speciality insurers. A smaller base in which to compensate for numptiness, means i have to pay more due to the smaller base. Something I can get a better deal on elsewhere, as they have a larger base to draw from.

Those that have stayed with me so far, I commend you.

I hope you take the above as an open and honest personal appraisal, and I note it is only my own personal view of the situation. I have given credit where credit is due, and pointed out where I think things can improve - coming from a Sunday nana with no claims history to draw much conclusions from.

[Hatto]

Love it. Very well written. Open and honest. Well done.

[Pickle]

My first year with Club and happy with the policy. Certainly not the cheapest out there but all my add ons are covered . A better understanding of a Club Participant and Frequent 4wder swayed me over .
Dave

[MSF]

Coming from 22 years in the industry, I see where they are coming from and for their very small portfolio size, the ONLY option for them was to increase the excess... SUBSTANTIALLY increase the excesses.

As they say, this is being used as a deterrent to possibly stop people taking extra risks, and hopefully this works, because a $5,000 excess on a $50,000 Total loss will not be sustainable long term if the claims numbers remain the same..

Due to their small portfolio size, an individual excess increase or a "user pays" option is the only choice if they want to maintain their current book of business. For them to try and apply an increase across their whole portfolio to offset the costs of these claims would mean that many of their existing (very low risk) customers would insure elsewhere due to the unjustified premium increases.. (See Sharkcaver's comments above). just a guess but maybe 10-15% for this alone.. then factor in all other increases, and you could be seeing a 25%+ increase for (effectively) nothing you have done.. The general public will not accept this and vote with their wallets and insure elsewhere.... So the portfolio gets even smaller, the increases need to get bigger.. and they become unprofitable and close their doors...

This is why general insurers that have a HUUGE portfolio, can absorb these claims types much easier and if they want to increase premiums, then it would be more like 2-3% across the board. Or, as is the case with Shannons' insurance and their unique book, they underwrite the person moreso than the vehicle. when you apply for insurance with Shannons, you may not know it but you are being "interviewed" for your acceptance and your premium or excesses (and your ultimate acceptance from them) depends on your answers and what sort of enthusiast you are...

For the 4WD scheme I wrote for the company I was at, we were not able to underwrite like the Shannons' model, so we had to do it through the vehicle (type and number of mods etc) and the drivers previous experience) It worked well, but did upset a number of people who thought they were entitled to be insured, even if their truck was illegal due to mods etc...

One final thing to note....
if you have a New Landcruiser and happen to make a mistake and drown it (you could be up for almost $10,000 in excesses). Now $10K on a $130,000 total loss may not seem like much - But what if it is not a total loss, basically, anything under a $10-12K claim you will have to wear the whole cost yourself as it will not be economical to claim once an excess is paid and a loss of NCB is factored in for future premiums....

[BeanCounter]

My first year with Club and happy with the policy. Certainly not the cheapest out there but all my add ons are covered . A better understanding of a Club Participant and Frequent 4wder swayed me over .
Dave

HEHE everytime I have tried to do a quote online I get a message along the lines of "Looks like you have a special vehicle there, please contact us on 1800xxxxxxx". Nice way of saying "We aren't going to cover a car that old despite the repair costs being less than a newer car.

[littleriver]

HEHE everytime I have tried to do a quote online I get a message along the lines of "Looks like you have a special vehicle there, please contact us on 1800xxxxxxx". Nice way of saying "We aren't going to cover a car that old despite the repair costs being less than a newer car.

Nah just ring them ... had the same thing happen with our Challenger ...

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